Wanderers FC was launched amongst a load of fanfare and if the young players signed are a sign of things to come, this club will have plenty of passion and flair.
Just one day after Harry Kewell sailed off into the English sunset a brand new force began to rise where Australia-s greatest footballing export started his career, and looking at it from the inside everything about Western Sydney Wanderers seems positive.
The kits are vibrant and eye-catching, the heritage of the area featured prominently but more importantly, while the past is celebrated the future is here and it is promising.
The first three signings in Aaron Mooy, Tarek Elrich and Kwabema Appiah-Kubi are all players who are young enough to be around the club for a long time and all three of them have the potential to do great things in the Hyundai A-League, but perhaps more importantly all three are Western Sydney juniors, and the overwhelming response from them as they begin their new journey was one of excitement.
And that excitement was to represent the area they grew up in, as part of a team the area deserves.
Elrich in particular has close ties to the area, his brother Ahmad played at Parramatta Stadium for the Parramatta Power and standing with the younger Elrich brother, you could feel the passion he has for the place.
Tarek stood in the change rooms, took it all in and spoke of when he stood in the stands wearing one of his brother-s jerseys, cheering him on and how his brother would have never left Parramatta had the club survived; for him no amount of money could have changed his mind and he spoke of how he never had to think about the offer to play here, stating it simply felt right.
For Appiah and Mooy it was also a homecoming, and if Mooy is the technical master then Appiah is the flair, his cheeky grin as he juggled the ball, effortlessly doing trick after trick as the media looked on hinted at a special talent, while Mooy, one of the most highly touted young prospects in Australian football looked on.
The irony of already having been a Bolton Wanderer was not lost on Mooy and though he is completely reserved when talking about himself he is positive about the move back to Australia and the opportunities this club presents for himself and the growing league.
All three players and coach Tony Popovic spoke of a passion to represent the area and if they get just half that in return from fans in Western Sydney this club will be a hit, the build has been right and the attitude is right, it might take time to get results on the pitch but things are being built in the right way out west and as the area continues to grow, hopefully so will this club.
